Half an hour later, I stepped out the fireplace and into the Malfoy's ballroom. And stopped dead. The room was beautiful- glittering chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and beautiful people swayed and pirouetted on the dance floor. Every one of them was reflected over and over again in the mirrors which covered the walls. The air was full of soft laughter and talk, and house elves carrying trays of canapés and drinks moved silently among the throng. I could almost smell the elegance- a faint tang of expensive perfume and wood panelling which made me wish, more than ever, that I could be a part of it.

I took a step backwards, heading towards the fireplace. I no longer even knew why I had come- these people wouldn't be interested in me. I was a Squib, and suddenly I was sure they would recognise that instantly.

"Do I know you?"

I whirled around to see a boy standing to my left, tall and skinny beneath his black robes and plain black mask. I gaped for a second, shocked that anyone here would want to talk to me, then asked stupidly, "Uh, should you?"

"Well, it is my ball."

I suddenly realised who I was talking to: Draco Malfoy, the boy Pansy had been talking about all week and my childhood playmate. I searched desperately for a witty reply, desperate to impress him. Instead, I said stupidly, "Surely it's your parent's ball." As soon as the words left my mouth, I wanted to kick myself. I sounded like a pedantic idiot. My head filled with an image of his thin face forming into a scowl.

"Yes, well, if you weren't invited you'll have to leave," he said sulkily.

"Oh, I was invited," I said hastily. It wasn't even a lie, really- the invitation Pansy had received had included the whole family, after all. Surely the fact that the Malfoys thought I was dead couldn't change that?

"Are you sure? What's your name?" he snapped.

"Um…" I faltered. "It wouldn't be much of a masquerade if I told you, would it?"

He examined me closely. I felt incredibly uncomfortable as his eyes travelled the length of my body, certain that it would become obvious what an impostor I was. Surely I must simply radiate Squib-ness when compared with the elegant dancers filling the room. But then he said, "Hm… I think I do recognise you from somewhere… How old are you?"

"Sixteen. But, er, I don't go to Hogwarts. I go to, er, Durmstrang. So you might not, um, have seen me that much…" I trailed off.

"Oh?" His eyes moved up to my mask. "My parents wanted to send me to Durmstrang, but mother thought it would be too far. She likes knowing I'm fairly close."

"Oh, really?" I asked weakly. I was shocked that I had managed to lie to a wizard- I mean, I knew that they couldn't all read minds, but even so…

"Yes." He looked me up and down once again. "So, if you really were invited, would you like to dance?"

I almost refused, sure that this must be a trick. But then an image of Pansy's face if she could see us flashed into my mind, and felt my face break into a smile at the thought. It had to be worth the risk, surely? "I'd love to dance."

He took my hand and led me out onto the dance floor as the previous song ended and a slower one started up. I panicked a little, realising that I hadn't danced in a very long time, and had never been this close to a boy. My family had cancelled my dancing lessons when they'd realised I was a Squib. At the time, I had been glad to end them- I'd never been much of a dancer- but now I wished I had continued. Still, slow dancing isn't particularly difficult. Our bodies were almost touching, and we seemed to move closer and closer as the song went on. I realised that I should attempt to make conversation, and asked, "So, uh, what's Hogwarts like?"

"Well, I suppose it's not absolutely unendurable. But the headmaster is a complete mudblood lover- Dumbledore, you might have heard of him- and the rest of the teachers tend to follow his lead. A lot of the time it's absolutely impossible for anyone of any quality to get any attention whatsoever. At Durmstrang you don't let in any of that rabble, I've heard."

"Um-" I began. Was he trying to catch me out? But luckily, he kept talking, without waiting for a reply.

"Father's been saying for years that Hogwarts needs to sort itself out. I mean, some of the people Dumbledore's hired over the years-" He talked for the rest of the dance, so that all I had to do was nod occasionally and concentrate on not treading on his feet.

Finally, the dance ended. Draco and I stood close together a second longer, and then he pulled away. I felt a strange sense of relief- it had been unnerving to be so close to a boy who I wasn't even sure I liked.
"Well, now you've got to tell me your name."

"Er-" I began. Then, attempting to adopt a flirtatious tone, I said, "It's still a masquerade, remember."

Draco sighed peevishly. "I'll find out anyway, you know." We said goodbye to each other, and he moved away across the dance floor, presumably to find someone else to talk at. I walked in the opposite direction, with no real idea where I was going. I felt elated- a wizard (Draco Malfoy, no less!) had asked me to dance! And by the end of the dance, he had still wanted to know my name! Obviously I wasn't so obviously a failure as I'd thought.

Then I caught sight of myself in the mirror, and my smile widened even more. I didn't recognise myself at first. I was as pretty as Pansy had been, maybe more so. The blue robes clung in some places and flared in others, giving my body the illusion of curves, and the high white heels that I wore(charmed by Mally so that I wouldn't fall) made me look tall, elegant and glamorous- something I had never looked in my life. Even my usually flat, mousy hair seemed to have some life in it.

I grabbed a glass of wine from a passing house elf and sipped it delicately as I looked around the room. First, I checked that my family were still there- they were. My mother and father were talking to an older couple, while Pansy was dancing with a boy in midnight blue robes and a sparkling mask. I felt a stab of jealousy that she was be dancing when I wasn't. My elation began to fade, slowly, as I looked around the room and realised that I didn't know anyone. I was suddenly hideously aware of how alone I must look, and began walking around the room, with the idea that now would be a good time to Floo back before I was discovered.

While I was trying to work out what direction I had come in from, another boy approached me. I was incredibly surprised He was wearing bright green robes and mask embellished with brightly coloured feathers, which looked gorgeous against his dark skin.

"I couldn't help noticing you dancing with Draco Malfoy a minute ago," he said.

"Uh…" I said, suddenly lost for words. I'd had more conversation with boys in the last ten minutes than I had in the last five years. "Really?"

"Yes," he said shortly. "Anyway, since you seem to be between partners, I was wondering if you'd like to dance with me."

"Oh, I'd like to very much," I said. I felt elated once again as we walked out onto the dance floor. The song playing was faster than the one which I had danced with Malfoy, and I had more difficulty getting the steps right. I stepped on his toes a few times, and cringed inwardly. Besides that, my partner was rather more taciturn than Malfoy- so the next five minutes were passed slightly awkwardly. But even so, I was happy- this was my second dance with a wizard, after all. I couldn't be nearly as repulsive as I'd assumed.

I danced with a few other people- I was shocked by how many. Between dances, I started to savour the atmosphere, and the fact that I was a part of it. Everyone was so refined, and they thought that I was one of them! I kept a close eye on my family at the same time, though. When I saw Pansy bidding a mournful farewell to Draco, I wanted to kick her. Instead, I headed straight to the fire and Flooed home. I ran upstairs to my room, dragged off my robes and shoved them in the bottom of my wardrobe. I threw the accessories in to, and hastily pulled on my pyjamas and turned off the light, just as I began to hear voices downstairs.

"And then I danced with Vaisley, and then Terence, and loads of others, but none were as good as Draco-"

I felt a smile spread across my face as Pansy chattered on. If only she knew that I, too, had danced with Draco Malfoy! He had told me he would find out my name! I gloried in the victory over my sister, small and petty though it was. My family went to bed, and the house quietened. I lay awake a long time, imagining Draco in his black mask, remembering the faint smell of cologne as we had stood close to each other and replaying every sentence he had spoken to me in my head. Could he possibly be interested in me?

It was then that I realised how desperately I wanted to see him again, without a mask. I wasn't entirely sure why- he'd seemed like an arrogant idiot, mostly- but I suppose that I had felt more elated that night than ever before in my life, and he was the first wizard to show me any attention in a very long time. And, of course, there was what it would do to Pansy if he happened to fall for me.

When I finally drifted off to sleep, I was imagining all the possible ways Draco might sweep me off my feet. I would discover that I was a witch after all; he would realise that I was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen; and so on…

I should have known that my happiness couldn't last long.

A/N: I've rewritten this chapter, mainly to try and get Draco a little more in character. Any thoughts on whether I've succeeded or not would be hugely appreciated, as would any other thoughts you have on the story. Thank you for reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, as you may have guessed.